Romanization is a term used for the introduction of an orthographic system using the Roman (Latin) alphabet for writing the words of a language hitherto represented using a different writing system – or possibly not yet having a written representation. The design of an orthography involves a difficult balance between many considerations, an important one of which is the learnability of the relation between spelling and pronunciation.
Since the originally romanization of the English, the pronunciation of the language has changed dramatically while the orthography has remained rather stable. As a consequence, the original relation between spelling and pronunciation has severely been degraded, impacting the learnability of English spelling. In the course of time there have been many proposals for spelling reform, that is, a redesign of the English orthography. Some have been based on a new alphabet (such as the Shavian alphabet or a simplified form of IPA), others on re-romanization, that is, keeping the Roman alphabet, but with an orthography re-designed from scratch.
While some re-romanization systems[1] have been introduced to achieve a humoristic effect, and some others[2] disregard linguistic principles, the design of various other systems has been based on a more scientific approach, and are possibly not so much as an actual proposal, but rather an object of linguistic scholarship. One such system is described below in more detail.
Basic Roman Spelling
The Basic Roman Spelling is a re-romanization of the English language, designed in 2003 by the Bulgarian linguist L.L. Ivanov (author also of the Official Bulgarian[3] system of English transliteration of the Cyrillic alphabet). The spelling uses a twenty-two letter system (the letters j, q, w and x are not used) to provide a diacritic-free, easy and simple – if somewhat rough – phonemic orthography for English.
Orthography
Vowels
(including diphthongs) |
Consonants |
| Grapheme |
Phonemes represented |
|
| a |
as in ask; but also hat; hut; ago, open |
| aa |
farm; firm |
| au |
out |
| ay |
white |
| e |
red |
| ea |
air |
| ey |
way |
| i |
in |
| iy |
feel |
| ia |
dear |
| o |
on; bother |
| oo |
port |
| ou |
know; no |
| oy |
toy |
| u |
look, you; will, why |
| uu |
mood; wood |
| ua |
tour |
|
|
| Grapheme |
Phonemes represented |
|
| b |
best |
| ch |
cheer |
| d |
do; this |
| dzh |
joy (optional variant grapheme: j) |
| f |
fix |
| g |
green |
| h |
home; why; loch (Scottish) |
| k |
kiss; loch (English) |
| l |
like |
| m |
me |
| n |
name |
| ng |
sing |
| p |
peak |
| r |
river; write; also farm, river in rhotic dialects |
| s |
sea |
| sh |
ship |
| t |
top; think |
| ts |
tsar |
| v |
view |
| y |
you; million |
| z |
zoo |
| zh |
vision |
|
|
Possible variant graphemes: 'th' as in think, 'dh' as in this.
Illustration
An illustration of the Basic Roman Spelling of English:
|
|
| Orthodox English Spelling |
Basic Roman Spelling |
| Hamlet’s Soliloquy |
Hamlet’s Salilakuiy |
| (Act III, Scene I) |
(Akt III, Siyn I) |
| William Shakespeare |
William Shakespeare |
| To be, or not to be, that is the question: |
Tu bi, oo not tu bi, dat iz da kueschan: |
| Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer |
Hueda ’tiz noubla in da maynd tu safa |
| The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, |
Da slingz and arouz av autreydzhas foochan |
| Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, |
Oo tu teyk aamz agenst a siy av trabalz, |
| And by opposing, end them. |
And bay apouzing, end dam. |
See also
References
